Barn Funnel Weaver

Description:

Possessing elongated bodies with a somewhat flattened cephalothorax and straight abdomen. Their body/legs ratio is typically 50—60%, which accounts for a body size of 7.5–11.5 mm (.3–.45 in) in females and 6–9 mm (.24–.35 in) in males. Males are usually distinguished from females by having longer, more agile legs, bloated pedipalps and elongated abdomen. Other distinctions are strictly behavioral.

Habitat:

Common belief has it that T. domestica, first only occurring in Europe, was accidentally introduced to the Americas by British lumber merchants during the Napoleonic Wars era along with wooden cargo exported over the Atlantic Ocean. Recent arachnological studies, however, suggest that the species had a common ancestor with the giant house spider that spread to both Europe (through Asia) and the rest of North America from Northwestern Canada (possibly from a region currently housing British Columbia) long before the first human settlement in North America.

Notes:

Barn funnel weavers are active and agile hunters, relying on both their vision and movement speed as well as web mechanisms. Their eye configuration, with six out of eight sighting forward, allows them to distinguish even the smallest movement in front of them and either follow it, or retreat, if the movement is too considerable. These spiders are also known to be photosensitive, i.e. moving to or fleeing from the light, depending on situations. Specimen on the photos was caught in our cellar and trapped under a glass - released after shooting of course.